Tiger Selfies Outlawed in New York to the Disappointment of Online Daters

Tiger selfies are now banned in New York after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law this week that prohibits direct contact with the large cats.

The mandate prohibits members of the public from snapping selfies with the animals at traveling animal shows and fairs, a practice that's become popular on online dating sites as suitors — generally young men — look to stand out by posing with dangerous predators.

Animal exhibitors would face fines for each violation, The Associated Press reported.

Wildlife advocates say the tiger selfie trend is not only hazardous to humans but encourages mistreatment of endangered animals. The big cats are often taken from their mothers as cubs, poorly cared for, and then neglected or discarded when they grow up.

"They breed the cubs, use them for photo-ops, and then when they can't use them they breed more," said Carole Baskin, founder and CEO of Big Cat Rescue, a Tampa, Florida sanctuary that has more than 100 big cats. "Taking the cub away is a misery to the cub and the mother, and the cubs aren't fed properly. They don't sell tiger milk at the pet store."

The legislators behind the new law said they hadn't even heard of tiger selfies when they crafted the measure and simply wanted to impose some safeguards on the often unregulated industry of traveling animal shows.

"I had no idea what a tiger selfie was," said Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, a Manhattan Democrat. "This is a serious issue. People who take selfies with wild animals are fooling with their lives. And it harms the animal because they're generally not well-treated. They're seen as profit-making props."

Similar laws are already on the books in states including Mississippi, Arizona, and Kansas, where a 17-year-old girl was killed in 2005 while posing with a tiger for her senior photos.

Baskin said she hopes other states follow suit. She said men hoping to use tiger selfies to score a date should consider posing with a domestic feline instead.